Course-Embedded Assignment Reflection for EDLD 5365
Self–Assessment
This class consisted of a lot of research which gave me the opportunity to learn more about my district’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for the internet. School districts that receive E-Rate funds are subject to the requirements put forth in the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 138). It’s very important for educators to know and comprehend this policy because it’s easy to break a rule if you are unaware of them, ignorance is no excuse. I am now educated on the district’s AUP and proficient enough to educate others as well. I was, also, introduced to Google Docs and Gmail during this class which gave me a lot of tools to use in the classroom. It allows users to create and edit documents online and collaborate and share in real-time with other users. I learned how to create word processing documents that are compatible with Microsoft Word, import documents from my computer into Google Docs, export documents from Google Docs to your computer, and invite other people with Google Docs accounts to view and/or edit my documents. I introduced collaboration to my colleagues and the district’s Technology Instructor who did not know about this concept. Learn as a Learner
Working on New Schools Spaces.net did not assist me with the knowledge I needed to build websites. The program didn’t work most of the time due to overloading. I am assigned to the 1st cohort and a lot of things were trial and error during this timeframe. I recently tried to find my website and wasn’t surprised to see that New Schools Spaces.net is no longer in business. It was basically very difficult to build a website with all the error messages popping up and slowing progress. My district currently has a website but my school campus does not. We are in the process of finalizing the plans for a new district website that will include teachers and administrator Web pages that will collaborate within the network. Like the electronic store, a user-friendly web site that encourages visitors to return is one that allows those visitors to find information and complete tasks swiftly and simply (Kaiser, 2006, p. 61). The web sites will be maintained by Schoolwires® and are user friendly and easy to manipulate.
Lifelong Learning Skills Building a wiki spaces web site gave me the experience and knowledge needed to teach students and teachers. My students and I are currently working on building a Google site for our classroom web page until the new one arrives. Once we have established this site I introduce blogs and podcasts to my students. Three of the most commonly used Web 2.0 tools are blogs, podcasts, and wikis, and there are many examples of each (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 55). These tools are popular in social networking so they should be implemented into the classroom for teaching and learning.
References Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene,
OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
Kaiser, S. (2006). Deliver first class web sites: 101 essential checklists. Collingwood, VIC, Australia: Sitepoint.
Self–Assessment
This class consisted of a lot of research which gave me the opportunity to learn more about my district’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for the internet. School districts that receive E-Rate funds are subject to the requirements put forth in the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 138). It’s very important for educators to know and comprehend this policy because it’s easy to break a rule if you are unaware of them, ignorance is no excuse. I am now educated on the district’s AUP and proficient enough to educate others as well.
I was, also, introduced to Google Docs and Gmail during this class which gave me a lot of tools to use in the classroom. It allows users to create and edit documents online and collaborate and share in real-time with other users. I learned how to create word processing documents that are compatible with Microsoft Word, import documents from my computer into Google Docs, export documents from Google Docs to your computer, and invite other people with Google Docs accounts to view and/or edit my documents. I introduced collaboration to my colleagues and the district’s Technology Instructor who did not know about this concept.
Learn as a Learner
Working on New Schools Spaces.net did not assist me with the knowledge I needed to build websites. The program didn’t work most of the time due to overloading. I am assigned to the 1st cohort and a lot of things were trial and error during this timeframe. I recently tried to find my website and wasn’t surprised to see that New Schools Spaces.net is no longer in business. It was basically very difficult to build a website with all the error messages popping up and slowing progress. My district currently has a website but my school campus does not. We are in the process of finalizing the plans for a new district website that will include teachers and administrator Web pages that will collaborate within the network. Like the electronic store, a user-friendly web site that encourages visitors to return is one that allows those visitors to find information and complete tasks swiftly and simply (Kaiser, 2006, p. 61). The web sites will be maintained by Schoolwires® and are user friendly and easy to manipulate.
Lifelong Learning Skills
Building a wiki spaces web site gave me the experience and knowledge needed to teach students and teachers. My students and I are currently working on building a Google site for our classroom web page until the new one arrives. Once we have established this site I introduce blogs and podcasts to my students. Three of the most commonly used Web 2.0 tools are blogs, podcasts, and wikis, and there are many examples of each (Solomon and Schrum, 2007, p. 55). These tools are popular in social networking so they should be implemented into the classroom for teaching and learning.
References
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene,
OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
Kaiser, S. (2006). Deliver first class web sites: 101 essential checklists.
Collingwood, VIC, Australia: Sitepoint.
Course Embedded Assignments